Ramblings from Oz

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

I read Billy Beck on a semi-regular basis. When I started reading his blog a couple of years ago, after about the dozenth post, I realized he is probably the most rational person I've ever read. Most of his stuff is so high thinking that the average Joe would have no chance of ever understanding it, as he states here,

"you, reading this, right now, were almost certainly never trained to distill anything to essentials."

But then, he outdoes himself. It only got better when I looked at this post.

And again when I read this one, from the same day. The most troubling part about the last one is that I must admit to having had those feelings of despair...about TEN YEARS AGO! It is sad to think that I had reached that same conclusion, and at the age of 24, no less, but at the time, I couldn't have explained why. My intuition was correct, and my thoughts didn't need help as much as clarification. That would come with mileage, as I found out. The ensuing decade (or more)has been a great instructor for me, as I feel that my ideas have been refined, but I digress.

There are those who are stuck in what I would later learn is, in psycho-babble talk, a state of Cognitive Dissonance, a rationalization of high order in which someone convinces themselves that a lie is indeed the truth, and usually immutably so. An absolute, even.

As an extension to Billy Beck's topic, a response in the comments section of QandO, Tom Perkins writes, "I am confident that we will on this current path continue to incentivize the election of people who will happily build hell on earth so they can reign there. If they are in charge, they'll dig it"

I couldn't agree more, unfortunately. I just hope there are a few last vestiges of open-eyed, clear thinkers like Billy around to call "Bullshit" when the burden becomes too great. At that point, the shooting war can commence, and then, all bets are off.

Monday, June 26, 2006

With a H/T to Kevin at The Smallest Minority for the specific passage in his post that got me to thinking, to wit:

"If the majority of Muslims do in fact believe that an apocalyptic conflict with the west is inevitable, then 1, it is indeed inevitable, and 2, let the apocalypse begin.

If genocide is unavoidable, I choose genocide against my enemies rather than myself.

There will be one more massive outrage from the Religion of Peace, and then things are going to go rather badly for them.

Okay, let me not be so coy and cute. I am just about ready to give my blessing to a genocidal nuclear strike on the majority of the Muslim world, and I suspect many of my countrymen are similarly itchy-fingered.

One more. One more fucking mass-murder. Go for it, boys. Give us the excuse. Some of us suspect it's inevitable and the only way to finally get it through your primative heads that we will no longer put up with being murdered by savage animals, but we need the moral pretext. We need the hot anger of fresh provocation.

So do it. If you are incapable of sharing the earth peacefully, then we will have to absent you from it. And when the nuclear fire rains down on you, you can cry out to your God and ask him "What have we possibly done to deserve this?"

In 50 years Americans will look back in horror at what we've done, just as they did 50 years after Hiroshima; but then, we'll have peace for 50 years. I'll exchange some guilt for safety."[My emphasis.]

I guess that I had resigned myself to that position long ago.

Funny, the thought doesn't really bother me the way he says it will. The DOING of it doesn't really bother either. The guilt thing he is presuming is non-existant from my perspective, even though it may be from other, like-minded, individuals.

The real issue for me is not the toll that they will take, but the reactions from those on this side of the globe will inevitably make. I have a good idea about what some of them will say, and a fear of what they might do. It is this polits doing that has me concerned, because all of their blather about being pacifists (Craig Rosebraugh story here) has always struck me as utter bullshit.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

The Kraut and I don't as yet have kids (though we are working on it), but I am almost positive that they'll be homeschooled. Our schools are supposedly some of the best in the state (and let me state here that the socialists (yes, we have these, even in Kansas) like to fight about the funding issue), but I am aware of the criteria for determining such rankings, and they are dubious, to say the least.

I am a product of public schools, but I can't be sure that most of the product these days is of the same quality, and that little piece is really starting to show, in general.

I seem to remember whilst in high school, one day my 11th grade English teacher made the totally shocking announcement to the class regarding an assignment, "We will sink or swim together!"

I sat, mouth agape. Quietly, instantly, contemplating the ramifications of this. My reaction; "Bullshit!" I said quietly to myself, in the same instant. NO WAY I'M LETTING THIS CLASS PULL ME DOWN. That thought crossed my mind, as I knew this was an effort for group study and pairings for assignments. The stupid kids with the smart ones, and so on.

International law?, are you fucking kidding me?

My ire grows each day.

I'll never let the UN, or anyone for that matter, tell me how best to educate my child.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Can this guy read, or was he actively avoiding that little incident on November 9, 1938 and the ensuing carnage that soon followed? You know, that thing called the Holocaust, and that whole bit with the tattooing?

I mean, this guy IS a Jew. He should know these things, right?

I can't actually fathom that he has rationalized this thing in his head to the point where he considers the thought, "Oh, but this is different." I mean, if he is just trying to cash in on the hysteria about the porous border thing, I might buy that, he is hawking his company's chip thingy, but I just can't believe that he is unaware of the historical context of this issue. Or maybe he is.

Can someone please bring this man some relevant modern fiction: Huxley, Orwell, Bradbury? OR MAYBE A FUCKING HISTORY BOOK?

OK. He has ADD and he can't be bothered to read. I have a list of excellent movies for him, and can use the remote to back up when he realizes he missed something whilst in his Ritalin induced fog, or something.

Idjit.

Since the social doomsday clock took another click toward midnight, I am going to make another bulk ammo buy soon. Feeding the children will be hard after the shooting starts.